Dalit scholars forced to move rights panel for Junior Research Fellowship arrears

KOTTAYAM: Hundreds of research scholars of MG University, who have not been paid the UGC fellowship amount, have reason to hope with one of them getting the arrears of Rs 2,75,000 with the intervention of the State Human Rights Commission.

The university sanctioned the Junior Research Fellowship amount to Mr C.P. Arunkumar, a dalit research scholar of the School of Social Sciences after the dean and research guide Dr K.T. Rammohan took up the issue with the SHRC.
The SHRC demanded a report from the university which quickly granted the ten-month arrears on Wednesday.

Mr Arunkumar, who is working on the social history of Khalasi labour, has not been receiving JRF for the past one year. “The full amount was granted to the research scholar the other day. I had represented his case to the SHRC and the Kerala State SC/ST Commission,” Dr Rammohan told Deccan Chronicle.
Mr Arunkumar told DC that his research had been seriously affected due to the lack of funds.

Though he had approached the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes Commission with the grievances, they have not responded so far. The university authorities had denied him his fellowship saying that he had not upgraded his fellowship to Senior Research Fellowship (SRF) by undergoing interviews and other procedures.

However, the students’ representatives allege that the UGC was not allotting the funds because the university authorities had not properly presented the details of the funds given to the research scholars previously.

There are 286 research scholars in MG University who are receiving the JRF funds. The university grants Rs 6,000 as research fellowship while research students having JRF are eligible to get Rs 27,500 and those having SRF get Rs 30,800. A total of 168 research scholars are getting the university fellowships.